Spinning Ends
by Perplexity
Summary: Sequel to "Spinner." Tonks really did not know how she had become such a horrible Auror that she had been kidnapped and tied to a chair twice. This time she was also blind-folded in a foreign country. What luck she had.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters, plots, terms etc.

A/N: This is, as the summary states, a sequel to "Spinner." I have been hesitant to write one, but here it is. It will be a bit different, however. It will likely not be quite as silly for many reasons. Still, one of its many genres will be humour. It will not follow the books after book five or six as "Spinner" was written before then. I have most of the story outlined and a fair bit written. This chapter, is however, to feel out interest. So enjoy and please review.

**Spinning Ends**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

**Bad Ideas**

Tonks ran. She ran and she ran fast and she ran hard. _Shit_, she thought.

It was supposed to be just some investigation. Some elderly woman was accused of breeding dangerous creatures at her remote estate. What the assignment description had forgotten to add was that the old hag was breeding Cornish Pixies with Blast-Ended-Skewts; that she had anger management issues, that the woman had "issues with authority"; that she would be setting her monstrous creations upon anyone she disliked. And that meant Tonks, the innocent Auror, would be running for her life.

She gasped for air as she finally crossed the boundary of the estate. Tonks was quite glad that the woman had enough sense to put a barrier so that the creatures couldn't escape from the estate.

After catching her breath, Tonks apparated back to the Ministry, fully intending on giving her boss hell. Or maybe she would just write a very angry letter, she thought, after realizing that yelling at her boss was probably not a good career move. But who needs a job anyway?

"Dwalish!" she yelled as she entered the Auror Department.

"Yes, Tonks?" asked her boss smoothly.

"Did you forget to tell me anything about my assignment?" she seethed.

Dwalish looked slightly nervous. "Well, nothing too important…"

"And what was this 'not too important piece of information?'" Tonks asked.

"Er, that Ms. Ivington spent ten years in St. Mungo's ward for the incurably insane," answered Dwalish, fidgeting with the hem of his robes.

"I see. And you thought this irrelevant? Certainly. It is not as if she would set her monstrous creation on an Auror."

Dwalish paled. "She...?"

"Yes, Dwalish, she did. I know you are my boss, but you need to do a better job. And not almost get your Aurors killed by something that can sting, bite, shoot fire and fly!" she yelled. "I am taking the rest of the day off!"

Tonks slammed Dwalish's door and stormed down the hall. That certainly had be liberating. Now she would see if she had a job tomorrow.

Apparating into her flat, Tonks threw herself down upon her couch and immediately picked up her Thesaurus, trying to come up with some good, insulting names to call her boss when he fired her. 'Negligent twit' was sounding good and fairly accurate to her at this moment. She then threw the book down on her table. Tonks knew that there was more bothering her than just work.

It had started before Voldemort's downfall—when she had been the prisoner of Severus Snape for some months. She fought against him and they bickered back and forth. She knew she had been quite the pain for him. Though, even in that, something sparked between them. She still didn't understand it.

Tonks had then suffered greatly at the hands of Voldemort. He had manipulated her body and her mind; however Snape had stealthily intervened, making it a little less unbearable. He had saved her and then he had taken a large part in Voldemort's demise. The problem was that she and her cousin Draco Malfoy were the only ones that knew this and they had no proof. So Snape disappeared.

She sighed. She had not heard a word from Severus in months. At first he wrote fairly often. Yes, the letters were vague and distant verging on cold, but it was at least something. Now there was nothing. This would not have been a problem if she didn't have feelings for that insufferable man. She really wanted to get his name cleared. But really what then? Would they declare their undying love for each other, get married and have lots of babies? The mere thought was nauseating.

Tonks stared into the fireplace. She had not dated since before her time at Spinner's End. Actually since before she joined the Order of the Phoenix. That had been nearly four years ago. No wonder she was depressed and irritable. It wasn't as if she had not had offers, though. She had had a few, but she turned them all down. Damn feeling beholden to an overgrown bat who didn't write.

She stared into the fire for a bit longer. She contemplated and the she zoned out. She then started to fall asleep. Fortunately, Tonks could not fall asleep well while sitting part way up. As her head fell, she jerked awake. She check her watch. Great Scott! She was late!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I am old and poor. I therefore do not own Harry Potter and affiliated terms, characters and plots. **

**You Fold Your Towels Corner to Corner**

Upon realizing that she was late, Tonks bounded up, grabbed her coat and apparated.

The Leaky Cauldron was as busy as ever. Tonks sat at a corner booth with Remus, drinking a butterbeer and glaring into is amber-colored depths. She had barely said a word to Remus since she had sat down and Remus looked at her with concern etching his face.

"You certainly have been in a foul mood as of late. Is anything in particular bothering you?" asked Remus kindly. In the last year or so Remus had become a very good friend. Yes, Tonks had to sometimes berate him on his sensitivity and tendency to worry, but he was still someone she could count on and she enjoyed his company.

"There are a few things," she answered, biting back the things that wanted to come spewing out. But she couldn't tell him about Severus. It wasn't that she didn't trust Remus to keep quiet, but it was that she didn't trust him to trust her. He would think that her feeling for Severus were silly or unhealthy or something of that trend. He wouldn't understand, especially when she had turned him down.

"Care to explicate?"

Tonks stared at him. "Well, for one I might be fired."

"What?" asked Remus, bewildered.

"I don't think it will happen, but it could. Gave Dwalish a good shouting at today," Tonks said with a slight smile.

"Lost your temper about something? You seem to be doing that a lot lately," he said, looking at her levelly. "I will remind you that you were having a one-sided shouting match with a box of biscuits the other day."

"It was being stubborn," she replied defiantly.

"You mean you couldn't get it open with your hands or wand so you decided to see if verbal abuse would do the trick," mused Remus.

"I guess you could say that. But, today was different! Dwalish sent me to home of a lunatic without fully or properly briefing me on the subject. I was almost killed by Mitzy the Blasted-Ended Cornish Pixy-Skewt!"

"Okay, understandable, but that does not explain why you nearly punched Bill Weasley two weekends ago."

"He was being a prat."

"How, might I ask?"

"He just was," said Tonks, refusing to really answer the question. She didn't really want to say it was because he had been insulting Severus. She had longed to just tell him to shove it, because Severus had been a large part of defeating Voldemort, but she knew she couldn't. So, instead, her anger was bottled up until it turned to rage, which flew out at an unsuspected moment. "I don't want to talk about it," she finished lamely.

"Tonks, what is going on? I am worried about you," he said tenderly, making Tonks cringe.

"I am fine, Remus. Just peachy. Now leave me alone about it, will you?" she snapped.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry. You have just been in a mood recently."

Tonks sighed. She really shouldn't be taking her frustrations out on Remus. "It's 'right," she finally said. "I think I just need a holiday or something."

"I really did not want to be the one to bring this up, but Molly has been pestering me about it for at least two months. Last time she reminded me she laid in with the guilt and those deathly glares she gives. You know—"

"—The ones that she gives Fred and George every time something explodes?" Tonks inserted.

"That's the one. Anyway, er…well…" started Remus.

"Spit it out," said Tonks looking at Remus skeptically.

"Well…you haven't dated in a while. Molly and Arthur know this very nice bloke and…" trailed Remus nervously.

"A blind date? You must be joking," said Tonks. She did not want to be too hard on Remus, as it was obvious that he had been coerced into proposing such a thing, but really, it was ridiculous. Anyway, she was already taken…sort of.

"It might be good for you. You know, something new; it could distract you from work and from whatever has been putting you in a foul mood. It will stop Molly from walloping me with her frying pan."

"Ah, I see your true motives now," said Tonks with a grin. She did not really want to, but the threat of Molly unleashing upon Remus and the fact that she did need some new distraction made her wonder if it was really a good idea. "I'll think about it. Just for you, though."

"That is all I ask," said Remus. "If you do decide to go, we can set thing up with Molly later this week. Tea on Sunday, remember?"

"Yes, of course," said Tonks, not sure still how she felt about this. What if the guy turned out to be a serial killer? Or worse, what if he was a fan of the Tornados? Tonks could handle the former, but a Tornados fan was a whole other deal. The scenario became worse and worse in her head. The guy could be an accountant who only listened to Abra Cadabra. He of course would have crossed eyes from staring and numbers all day and would live with his mother because it was "more economical." He would proceed to go through Tonks' house, measuring and leveling each picture frame. They would then get married and have many little babies that would pop out already bespectacled. They would of course be still living in the upstairs of her mother-in-law's house. Her mother-in-law would of course always berate her house-keeping and childrearing skills. One day, Tonks knew that she would loose it and curse her mother-in-law. She would then proceed to be arrested spend the rest of her life in Azkaban, her only visitor being her dweeb of a husband.

It all became too much for Tonks in her head. She suddenly burst out, "If I do this I am not baring him a hoard of nerdy children and I certainly will not put up with his mother telling me how to properly fold my hand towels. Understood?"

Remus grinned, knowing Tonks well enough to understand what was going through her head. "Understood," he said with no trace of mockery.

-------

AN: Thank you to everyone for reading and to those who reviewed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I am old and poor. I therefore do not own Harry Potter and affiliated terms, characters and plots.**

**Spinning Ends**

**Chapter 3: ****Dragging Remus Down with Her**

Tonks left early for work the next day, hoping that work still did indeed exist. Luckily, as she found upon arrival, Dwalish was not so thick that he didn't understand his mistakes. Either that, or he was just intimidated by Tonks, seeing that she had arrived at work to find him waiting at her desk with an apology and a cup of coffee.

He also, now that they knew that Ms. Ivington had been breeding dangerous creatures, had reassigned the case to several newer Aurors. Tonks smirked at this, since she found that some of the newer Aurors were too cheeky for their own good. This should bring them down a notch, she thought. With a satisfied look on her face Tonks settled down to work.

Not too much later, when Tonks had been getting very absorbed into writing a play-by-play report about her encounter with Ms. Ivington, she was interrupted by the sound of a wizard clearing his throat.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" asked Tonks, surprised to see the young man. Though she and Harry worked in the same department, since he was barely out of training phase, Tonks rarely saw him. He usually was not in the office, but was out finishing up his field training (it was after field training that he would be a full-fledged Auror and have a desk and lots of paper work).

"I am delivering you the new list of assignments. Dwalish is trying something new. As a senior Auror you get some of the first picks for the assignments. He thinks this will bring up performance, but I am not so sure."

Tonks nodded, reading through the descriptions.

_Warlock Willy Weatherby wanted for questioning about a killing in Harlow Corner. He is allusive and potentially violent…_

_Brenda Doogles suspected of trafficking shallow-bottomed cauldrons in from unknown associates. Investigation of current business records…_

_Ministry of Magic in Belgium needs help investigating two wizards, suspected to be British citizens. The first has been endangering secrecy codes. The second is feared to be some type of assassin. The two could be connected…_

_Investigation of rogue Herbologist, Ernest Mocket, suspected of selling dangerous hybrids to…_

_Frankie G. Tully and his associate Gretchen Waters suspected of theft of over ten-thousand galleons from local merchants in Login's Pass and London areas…_

Tonks scanned the page. There were about fifteen cases in all and most sounded rather dry. She glanced at Harry. "Which are you going to choose?"

"Since I am not a senior , I get assigned one," he answered.

"You could have been a senior, but you were too noble to take it," said Tonks grinning.

"I—"

"Don't worry about it, Harry. Do come in for tea, though." Tonks ushered him in scanning over the list again. Going to Belgium sounded interesting. It would be a nice break and maybe it would bring her temper down a bit.

The rest of the week was rather uneventful. However, Tonks still managed to sink back into her melancholy and irritable state. She had been in such a mood that when Sunday came for tea with Molly and Remus she almost blew it off to lock herself in her apartment and remain anti-social. She went, however, since she knew that with Molly Weasley she could not get away with any such thing.

Tonks arrived at the Burrow a little after Remus did. As soon as she arrived Molly sat her down at the table, shoving a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits in front of her. Tonks thanked her and began to eat. Nothing was better than the comfort of Molly Weasley's kitchen with biscuits and tea. "So," started Molly. "Remus tells me that you are interested in meeting the young man Arthur and I told him about."

Tonks longed to say that "interested" was a strong word for it and that she doubted that Arthur had anything to do with it. She also wanted to correct Molly, who seemed to have took a "maybe" as a "yes." But, instead she replied, "I suppose. I do need to get out a bit more and meet new people."

Remus could tell what Tonks had really wanted to say and grinned in spite of himself. Molly, unfortunately, caught this grin. "Good, good. Now if you could just get Remus to do the same thing. I have been telling him forever—well at least since things didn't work out between—well, you know. I know this lovely young woman. I think that she and Remus would hit it off splendidly."

Remus blushed slightly and grimaced. Tonks was not sure whether it was because of the proposal that he go on a blind date or because of the mention of his and Tonks' failed romance. Either way, Tonks had an idea, seeing that if she didn't want to disappoint Molly she was stuck going on this date. "You know, Molly, I am a little nervous about going on a date with someone I have never met. But, if I had someone else there that I knew and trusted…" started Tonks.

Remus stared at Tonks with a horrified expression and tried to mouth to her "no way." Molly, on the other hand, smiled widely. "Of course! I do not know why I hadn't though of that before! You and Remus could go on a double date with Stu and Alice. It would work splendidly."

"I don't know, Molly," said Remus quickly. "I have been very busy and…"

"Hogswash. You can spend one night away from work," said Molly sternly. "I'll let Stu and Alice know. Let's say this Friday evening? There is a lovely little restaurant I know of in London. Yes, I'll make the reservations tomorrow. Six o'clock?"

"It sounds lovely, Molly. I can't wait," said Tonks, barely stifling a laugh. Remus on the other hand looked nauseous. He mouthed something along the lines as "I'll get you for this" to Tonks. Tonks just grinned in reply.

---

A/N: Thank you to everyone for reading woth an extra special thank you to everyone for reviewing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related thing are not mine.**

**Spinning Ends  
**

**Chaper 4: The Lamest Excuse in the Book**

Tonks arrived at the restaurant with ten minutes to spare. She was the first one there, so she sat awkwardly at the table, wondering what she had gotten herself into. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to do this, but she had made herself look presentable. Okay, so her hair was blue, but it went well with her dress. Further, she was wearing heals—the device that had to be some kind evil invention, a torture device, if you will.

Remus arrived not too long after her, dressed in his usual bookish manner, just a little more polished. "I can't believe what you got me into," he said before taking his seat.

"What I got you into? This is your fault. Just because you're scared of Molly…" said Tonks.

"Well, if it is a disastrous evening you can always play the "work emergency" card," said Remus.

"I suppose you could too…just tell Alice that there was a disaster in the library—desecrated books everywhere, no page left un-dog-eared ," teased Tonks ( she teased Remus a lot about becoming a librarian).

"Remember, I am a werewolf. That is an excuse for anything," said Remus, cracking the rare joke about his condition.

"'Sorry, I need to go howl and bury a few bones,'" joked Tonks in return. She was one of the few people Remus would joke with in this manner, partially because she would joke about it right back, instead of becoming awkward and trying not to say anything offensive.

"You look nice by the way," said Remus, pink slightly tingeing his cheeks.

"Thanks, you don't look too shabby yourself," said Tonks with a grin. "Now let's just hope we can say the same of our dates."

"Speaking of," said Remus, gesturing to a man who was approaching their table. Tonks turned. Indeed, Stu was a very good looking wizard. Very good looking. Tonks stood up, as did Remus. Remus introduced himself, shaking Stu's hand. Then Stu turned to Tonks.

"Hello, you must be Nymphadora," said Stu suavely, kissing the hand that Tonks had held out for him to shake. Tonks eyed him warily. She saw Remus snicker out of the corner of her eye.

"Actually, I just go by Tonks."

"I see," said Stu, who seemed to consider Tonks for a moment—including the blue hair—and took his seat.

"So, what do you do Stu?" asked Remus politely.

"I work at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department at the Ministry. I run statistical analyses on the data collected…" Tonks zoned out at that point. She looked like she was paying attention, but really she couldn't care less about how often Muggle appliances were misused. Unfortunately, Stu seemed to find this subject fascinating as he talked for fifteen minutes about it. Alice it seemed was running late, which annoyed Tonks because she greatly wanted an excuse to get Stu to stop talking.

When he finally finished and Tonks could get a word in, she asked, "So you work with Arthur Weasley?"

"Yes. It was an departmental lunch than brought me here tonight, via Mrs. Weasley, of course. Though I have known the Weasleys for sometime time before that. I worked on a profile and proposal for passing a legislation for regulation of cauldron thickness with Percy Weasley some years ago. It was a fascinating profile. You see, until 1561 the average thickness of a cauldron bottom—"

"Oh look! That must be Alice!" interrupted Tonks loudly and enthusiastically. She could not bear to hear any more about statistics or cauldron bottoms. Even Remus looked nauseous at the thought and looked very relieved when a young woman approached their table.

"Sorry that I am late," said Alice, as Remus pulled her chair out for her and introductions were made. "I just could leave the house the way I was. Long day at work, you know."

"Where do you work?" asked Tonks eagerly, not wanting to give Stu any opportunity. Alice eyed Tonks (and her blue hair) for a few seconds before she answered.

"I work at the Center for Divination Arts," she said, tossing her hair.

"Really?" asked Remus, seeming at least mildly interested—not just for Alice's sake. "Which division?"

"The practical division, of course. All the rest are frankly nonsense. I am one of their top divinators," Alice stated proudly.

Tonks could tell by the slight shift in Remus's demeanor that he was a bit disappointed. He loved research and had always been wary of those who claimed the knowledge of the future. But, he smiled politely and continued to ask questions.

They ordered food and drinks. Conversation was painful—from at least Tonks' perspective. Tonks kept trying to divert the conversation to Alice, who at least seemed interesting.

"So, Alice. What kind of divination do you usually do? I know the Center for Divination Arts sometimes sends the Auror department divinators to help with cases."

"I occasionally do such work. More often though, I work on with individuals or cosmic levels. I read auras, tea leaves, crystal balls—the usual."

"Prophecy?" asked Remus, curiously.

"At times, when it comes to me," said Alice mysteriously. Then, seconds later she froze and turned to Remus. "My dear, Remus, your aura. It feels dark. I can't be sure, but I suspect a Grim!"

Stu shuttered and Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes!" she said loudly, her eyes going wide. "I see it! Hair and howling at the moon—yellow eyes, sharp teeth." Alice raise her hands as if she were trying to feel invisible ghosts.

Tonks snickered without meaning to. She didn't doubt that Alice had divination skills, but she was overly dramatic about it. Also, she was undoubtedly sensing that Remus was a werewolf. But, she did not have enough sense to interpret it correctly.

Alice looked at Remus solemnly—who looked rather uncomfortable. "It is alright," she said softly. "Just keep an eye out when it comes looking for you."

Drinks came then, and Tonks could tell that Remus was glad for the distraction. Tonks unfortunately found herself reengaged in unengaging conversation with Stu.

"It was about ten years ago that in Poland a cauldron mishap happened. I know! It was mess, the cauldron—which was a standard model 680 pewter with five centimeter thickness and a holding capacity—" Tonks spaced out. She started to stare at the wall hangings behind Stu, nodding occasionally so that he would think that she was paying attention.

Food finally came. Tonks dug in, using food as an excuse to avoid Stu. Minutes later however, she felt something tickling her ankles, and sliding up her leg. Tonks looked up from her plate to see Stu staring at her with a grin.

He was trying to play footsie with her! The nerve! Tonks glared and covertly cast a spell that moved Stu's feet to the vicinity of Remus. Tonks could tell that Stu hadn't noticed, but given the face the Remus made—a mixture between being dumb-striken, horrified and disgusted—she knew that he had definitely noticed. And given the wince that passed of Stu, Tonk knew that Remus had kicked him. Her work was done, thought Tonks with a smirk.

Between Alice and Stu, Tonks could not stand any more. Stu's voice felt like a grater to her brain and Tonks could tell that Remus was not fairing any better with Alice, who kept commenting on his "dark aura." When she got a chance, Tonks practically threw her wine glass at Remus, causing it to spill all over his lap.

"Oh, no!" said Tonks as Remus quickly stood up. "I am so sorry. Here—no you two stay right there. I will go get Remus cleaned up. Stu, you can tell me all about those water freezing kettles when we get back."

Tonks dragged Remus off to the bathroom. "Did you really have to go that far?" asked Remus, trying to clean himself off. "These are my nice trousers!"

"Stop whining! It had to be done and you are glad I did it," said Tonks sticking out her tongue childishly.

"Yes. Judging by your clenched teeth you were on the edge doing something violent. I did not want to have to clean up after you after you lost it."

"It wasn't going to be that messy. I merely was considering the best method of launching a breadstick up Stu's nose. You can't tell me that you were not considering doing the same to Alice."

Remus thought for a moment. "I suppose, but I would have been far more tactful than you would have been. Now, how do we get out of this? I do not really want to hear any more about how next full moon I will 'go through a change in lifestyle.' I would tell her about—you know— but I do not want to fuel her predictions."

"So how do we escape?" asked Tonks.

"We could just be straight forward about it," suggested Remus.

"What? Just leave in the middle of dinner and say 'thank you for your time, but you are deathly boring and make my head want to explode'?"

"You could be a little more tactful than that," said Remus.

"Nah, I do not precisely feel like being tactful with Stu. But, for your sake—and do not pretend that he wasn't playing footsie with you—I'll try not to offend Stu," said Tonks as Remus turned red and sputtered about the footsie comment. "I think I might have a plan," Tonks continued. "Just follow my lead."

Remus agreed reluctantly after cleaning himself off. He and Tonks walked back to the table.

"Stu, Alice, I must apologize profusely," said Tonks. "But Remus and I just received an emergency message. Er…our friend…Harry. He is having a mid-life crisis and…um…crashed his broom. Yes and we must go see him immediately."

Stu and Alice seemed to accept Tonks' rather lame excuse, though Alice looked at Tonks and Remus suspiciously. They all bid each other a good night and Tonks made sure to drag Remus out the door before Stu could say anything besides "it was nice to meet you." When outside they both bid each other a good night.

As Tonks apparated she heard Remus sarcastically say, "Good one, by the way." She wanted to retort, but she knew that would result in her splinching herself.

Tonks was glad to finally be home after such a catastrophic date. She kicked off her boots and threw herself onto her couch. She was not entirely sure what Stu had been thinking—well, besides thinking about thinned-bottomed cauldrons and the sort. She did know that he had not gotten her message at all and that she would have to be more straight forward if she ever crossed paths with him again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related thing are not mine.**

**Spinning Ends**

**Chapter 5: The Stud Muffin or This Ain't no Alice in Wonderland**

Tonks entered work the next day noticeably lacking a spring in her step. She had yet to decide upon a mission. She had narrowed it down to three options: investigating Willy Weatherby about a murder, which was a tricky and potentially dangerous mission; going on the mission to Belgium, which would likely be frustrating dealing with the Belgian Ministry, but also be a bit of a holiday; or going after Frankie G. Tully and Gretchen Waters, which might prove interesting. She down right refused to investigate anything that had to do with cauldrons or hybrids.

Tonks as walked through the division to her desk, she noticed that her coworkers' eyes were following her. She stopped at Harry's desk, where he sat diligently doing paper work and muttered, "Harry…if any one asks, last night you crashed on your broom, while having a mid-life crisis. Also, What's going on?"

Harry looked up at her a little surprised. "Er…sure. Have you been to your desk yet?" Tonks shook her head and Harry continued, "Well, it looks like someone must really like you."

Tonks raised her eyebrow and muttered thanks as she walked off. As she approached her desk she became more and more worried. She almost fell backwards when she reached it. Perched atop her desk was the largest bouquet of sickly yellow, giant flowers that she had ever seen. They also, upon her approach started to sing a very sappy song by The Amorimentias.

Tonks stared at the bouquet wide-eyed, a look of disgust coming over her face. Who would send such a terrible creation? She really hoped it was a joke—but she feared that it might be sincere, from the last person she would have wanted.

"Tonks, it looks like you have an admirer," said an amused voice from behind her.

Tonks shook out of her reverie and silenced the flowers. "Shut up, Kingsley."

Kinglsey put up his hands in surrender. "Okay, but I think the whole office wants to know who they are from..."

Tonks approached and tore off the card and opened it. She paled as she read it. She became nauseous. "Stu D. Muffin," she said finally, reading the last line of the card. Suddenly, the flowers began singing again and Kinsley burst out laughing so hard he doubled over. "You mean Stud Muffin?" he choked out between laughs.

Tonks froze, mortified on the spot. Everyone around had been listening and had heard Tonks and Kingsley's exchange. They all roared with laughter. Tonks finally glared. She sent flames at the flowers and stopped away from her desk. "That's it!" she yelled. "I'm going to Belgium!"

**Humbug**

"You're going where?" asked Remus incredulously. Tonks had met Remus at Hog's Head after work.

"Belgium," stated Tonks for a second time.

"Why would the Belgian Ministry need our help?"

"Apparently the bloke is British."

"Are you leaving just so you can avoid Stu?" asked Remus.

"Of course not!" said Tonks indignantly. Remus shot her a look and she faltered. "Fine! Yes! But you didn't see the horrible singing bouquet that he sent me at work!"

"And I assume that you haven't told him that you are not interested?"

"I'll tell him…"said Tonks.

"When?"

"When I get back."

"You mean when he figures it out for himself and you have been at a safe distance from his 'displays of affection' until then," said Remus with a slight grin.

"You make me sound like a utterly horrible person!" said Tonks, affronted.

"Not an 'utterly horrible' person…just a bit horrible."

"I can live with that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I am old and poor. I therefore do not own Harry Potter and affiliated terms, characters and plots.**

**Spinning Ends**

**Chapter 6: Belgium Ho!**

Tonks arrived at the Belgian Ministry in a foul mood. She was very unhappy about the dim-witted partner she was paired with. She had no idea how he had even become an Auror. And that would be exactly why she decided that she would ditch him the first chance she got. Mission or no mission, she would not let Nicolas Chapman ruin her holiday.

Tonks had flooed in to the Ministry. She immediately sneezed in the face of the wizard who met her. Chapman came tumbling out of the fireplace after her.

"Auror Tonks, I presume?" said the Auror who met her, while trying to remain dignified despite the fact that he just been sneezed on.

"Sorry! Yes, you must be Auror Toris. Here let me clean your—" started Tonks.

"No need," said Toris stepping away from Tonks. "Really."

"If you're sure. Oh, and this is my partner, Nicolas Chapman," said Tonks, glancing over at Chapman who had somehow manage to entangle himself in his robe. Toris gave Chapman a skeptical look.

"You are both prepared to take on this assignment?" asked Toris, still eyeing Chapman.

"I assure you, we will do everything to apprehend the wizard that is causing you problems," said Tonks and Chapman finally freed himself.

"Yes, Auror Toris," said Chapman with an arrogant smile. "This case is in the best of hands. We will be sure to make the Belgiumian Ministry very proud." Chapman then proceeded to make a terrible joke about how Belgian waffles were actually "Belgiumian waffles," but the people of Belgrade stole the recipe.

Both Tonks and Toris cringed. "Chapman, why don't you find out about our accommodations, while Toris and I go over the boring paper work."

Chapman readily agreed and was led off by another Ministry worker.

"My apologies, Auror Toris," said Tonks.

"My sympathies," joked Toris, seeming to warm up to Tonks. "If you would prefer, we could send your colleague to do some observation work. I know of a few British citizens in the area that he could do surveillance on."

"You mean send my partner on a wild goose chase to find nothing in particular, just to keep him out of my way?" asked Tonks, keeping her face very serious.

"Well…I…I mean," sputtered Toris, who turned a bit red.

"That sounds perfect," said Tonks brightly.

Toris brightened at this and they went to his office to discuss the case. It seemed that a young man, Fletcher, had recently breached secrecy several times, usually using magic in fights with muggles. It was an easy enough case. However, the assassin was different. Not much was known, however, there had been a string of murders of high-level muggles, all which had evidence of a British wizard being behind them. It was feared that the next target would be Ling Nani, a muggle diplomat. The two cases had risen at the same time and it was feared that the assassin had an accomplice. Thus, it was suspected that if the first man was found, the second would be soon to follow.

"So, where have either been sighted?" asked Tonks.

"The suspect for breaching the secrecy has been sited at local pubs on the southern end of the city. Unfortunately none of those involved were able to give us any detail of what he looked like. If you can keep an eye out, I can alert an office we have down there that can be used for support if anything happens, or if you catch him. The head Auror at that branch has been particularly interested in the case."

"Its always the pubs…"

"The other is feared to be a former supporter of Britain's Lord Voldemort, given the ideology that would lie behind killing muggle diplomats."

"A supporter or follower? It can make quite a difference."

"Given the status I received on his followers that evaded capture, I would say it is likely just a supporter."

Tonks bid Toris a good night. They had decided that she go and check out the pubs. He hadn't given her the second suspect's name, which she found odd, but only thought about after her departure. Tonks caught back up with Chapman. Chapman had been sound proofing their room—the muggle way. Tonks rolled her eyes and decided that having Chapman out of the way would be best. So, she sent him on some wild goose chase to keep tabs on Mr. Gary Linfield, a important business man from London. Chapman just didn't know that Mr. Linfield was just a boring accountant that was on vacation. Someone who was likely never to be dangerous or be in danger. He was a threat to no one. Chapman did not need to know that part, though.

A/N: Sorry for long delays and short chapters. Thanks for reading...hopefully I will have more opportunities to update soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I am old and poor. I therefore do not own Harry Potter and affiliated terms, characters and plots.**

**Spinning Ends**

******Chapter 7:** And She Thought 'Nymphadora' was Bad

Tonks found herself later that evening in a rather shady looking pub. She had to resist twirling the mustache she has given herself. She also regretting giving herself eyebrows so thick that they interfered with her vision. Being in a Muggle pub and in disguise she couldn't risk changing it now. She sipped her whiskey slowly, marking each of the patrons of the pub.

She still did not know exactly what she was looking for. There were a few gentlemen playing cards at the corner table, a woman and her boyfriend making eyes at each other on the other end of the bar. The man closest to her seemed to be intent on drowning himself in his sorrows. It seemed to be a regular pub clientele. Tonks took another sip of her whiskey and waited.

A few people came and went and Tonks began to think that this was pointless. As she made to finish the last of her glass, though, a few men walked through the door. Tonks could tell that several of the patrons were staring at the men, though they were trying to look like they were not. The men were wearing suits—dressed much nicer than any of the other patrons. One man, who was most likely the oldest of the group, walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. The others—there were three of them—approached one of the men who was playing cards. Before Tonks knew it, the three younger, suited men were walking out the door with the man who was playing cards. The man who had ordered the drink put his glass down with some amount of money and walked out after them.

Tonks watched this curiously, as did the rest of the pub. The man who had been sitting closest to Tonks then slid off his stool and ran out the door. Tonks decided as she had finished her drink, that this was her queue. She was grateful that she seemed to be in the right place at the right time. She paid quickly and walked out of the pub.

Tonks saw that further down the street a man was running. She quickly morphed her face back to normal and transfigured her coat before running after him. She slowed as she saw the man turn a corner and approached cautiously.

Tonks rounded the corner into an alley way. The man she had followed was crouching behind a dumpster. Beyond him two of the men in suits she had seen in the pub holding the card playing man against the wall. The other two men were standing around them, seemingly interrogating the man—with words and their fists. Tonks couldn't understand a word of it and started wondering if her French was really that bad.

At the third thud against the man's body, the man she had followed sprang to action. He pulled his wand and shot a stunner over the dumpster, hitting one of the suited men. The other three men became alert and unsure of what was happening. Soon all of them were hit with some kind of curse, The man, the wizard, then came out of his hiding spot and helped the beaten man up.

"Wha…wha happened? How?" slurred the man.

"Do not worry about it just get yourself home. Bar your door," said the wizard.

The man stumbled off while the wizard pulled out a Muggle device. He started to talking to the device and then put it away. Tonks guessed that it was some kind of telephone—she was behind times on her Muggle studies. The wizard then slipped past her out of the alley.

She followed the dark figure around the corner. She got the impression, though, that the wizard wasn't as dangerous as the Ministry thought. She had seen what happened. This was just some guy wanting to play hero. Use his magic to help the Muggles. In thought, Tonks stumbled over a bottle that was lying in the alley. She managed to catch herself and hoped that she didn't make any noticeable noise.

As Tonks rounded the corner she found herself being shoved against the side of the building. The man said something in French and Tonks stared blankly. The man rolled his eyes. "I know you are following me," said the man.

"Aren't we perceptive," said Tonks, eyeing him warily and cursing her clumsiness.

"Why?" he asked.

"The Ministry wants you on breeching the secrecy. You ought to be more careful," she answered. She felt his grip loosening slightly, which gave her the chance to disarm him. She then grabbed his arm and swung him around so that they had switched positions. "Now, from what I have seen, I don't think you are a bad guy, but I am going to have to take you in anyway—"

"But—"

"Don't interrupt," said Tonks sharply. "I expect you to come quietly. It could just be a slap on the wrist, but we will have to see."

"I don't see why I should go anywhere with you," said the man defiantly.

Tonks just laughed. The man seemed to have the disposition of a ten-year-old. "Come. Now," she then said, grabbing his arm and making to apparate. Strangely enough, though, nothing happened. Tonks could tell that the man was grinning, despite not being able to see his face.

Tonks frown and sent a stunner at him. Nothing seemed to happen. The man gave a short laugh. Tonks was growing sick of this game. _Time to do this the old fashioned way_, she thought. She kicked the man, knocking him down, something that he did not expect. She tried another spell, but nothing seemed to hit the man.

She conjured some rope and tied his hands behind his back. "Nice try," she said, even though she did not know exactly what had happened.

The Auror at the field station was quite surprised to see Tonks walking her captive to in. The Auror had air of arrogance about him. "You seem to have interesting methods, Miss Tonks," he said.

"Yeah, well, whatever works," replied Tonks, "I think this is your breech of secrecy bloke."

"Indeed…Jean Pierre Jackson von Eboneisor Fletcher," said the Auror menacingly.

"Er..I just go by Jack Fletcher…" said the man timidly.

"The notorious outlaw!" continued the Auror. "Thought you would escape this time, eh?"

Tonks started to giggle. She really could not help it at the idea of this Jack bloke as a "notorious outlaw." He paled each time the Auror spoke. He was reasonably attractive—probably only a bit younger than Tonks—but also at that moment looked a little like a scared puppy.

The Auror's eyes shot to Tonks when she giggled. "Is there something you would like to add Auror Tonks?"

"Well, Mr. von Eboneisor Fletcher, while he was breeching secrecy codes, was doing so for visibly noble reasons. He very well might have saved someone's life tonight. Quite commendable, if you ask me," said Tonks, earning a small smile from Jack.

"Well, I did not ask you, Auror Tonks," said the Auror huffily.

Tonks wanted to point out that he _had _asked her. But, she thought it best not to get on the Auror's bad side…given that he had any other side.

"The sentence you will likely receive, Mr. von Eboneisor Fletcher," continued the Auror, "is death!"

Tonks really could not help it this time. He was entirely too dramatic. She burst out with full-fledged laughter, drawing the stares of both Jack and the Auror.

"Miss Tonks, if you will please control yourself! This is a serious matter!" snapped the Auror.

"Death? Really?" she giggled. "Yes, off with his head! Then we might play some croquet."

"If you mean to make a mockery of…" sputtered the Auror.

"Oh, you do that just fine yourself. Honestly," said Tonks, cringing slightly since this was _exactly_ what she had been trying not to do.

The Auror turned red in the face. He sputtered some obscenities, which Tonks did not follow very well. Finally he just glared at her and said, "Take him to his cell."

Tonks rolled her eyes and went to grab Jack from his chair. She then noticed something peculiar—Jack's hands were no longer bound. A few obscenities of her own ran through her head before there was a long bang and she fell unconscious.


End file.
